COLUMBUS, Ohio — The state will reopen its economy following science, not politics, Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday.
The governor said he is trying to listen to all sides as he faces mounting pressure from conservative critics to get Ohio back to business immediately.
“I can’t frankly get diverted by what somebody thinks,” DeWine said, asked about calls from Rep. Jim Jordan to reopen Ohio now. “Every day, what I try to do is listen to other people, but we mostly listen, frankly, to the medical community and to the scientists, and try to make the decisions based upon that information.”
Ohioans could be required to wear masks for at least two more months, DeWine said Monday, discussing his plan to end all mandates when cases in Ohio drop to about a quarter of where they are now.
The target for fully reopening Ohio is 50 cases per 100,000 people for a two-week period. But DeWine teased Tuesday that other restrictions could be loosened in the interim. The governor said state officials are putting together “very specific guidance” for large events this spring and fall, mentioning county fairs, graduations, and proms — with dancing.
“It really comes down to the fact that while we are on the offense with the vaccine, we have to stay on defense,” he said. “Until we drive this vaccine down to the ground, we’re going to have to continue to wear masks.”
The governor said Tuesday he will follow science, not politics, to reopen Ohio. (Pete Grieve / Spectrum News 1)
Providers Can Schedule 3 Weeks Out
The state is allowing providers to schedule vaccine appointments three weeks out, DeWine announced Tuesday at Ohio State Wexner Medical Center’s Schottenstein Center, after he toured the vaccination site.
Providers received guidance they can schedule appointments three weeks in advance for up to 75% of the number of doses they have been receiving.
Previously, uncertainties about vaccine supply prevented providers from scheduling appointments this far out.
“I asked the Schottenstein Center, for example, what that meant, and, you know, it really I think gives people more of a sense of comfort that they do have a specific appointment,” DeWine said.
Ohio has launched a centralized vaccine registration portal, but it has fallen short of expectations. After officials told reporters it was expected to launch on Valentine’s Day, it finally came online Monday. A few providers have made appointments available on the state’s portal, meaning residents still must navigate to providers’ webpages to try to make appointments.
The governor was asked Tuesday if he was happy with the website.
“Well, I’ll be happy with the website when everybody is on the website and all the providers have linked in. Until that moment, no, I’m not going to be happy with it,” he said.
Radar, a wellness dog, gave the governor a smile. (Pete Grieve / Spectrum News 1)
He said the portal will become more useful when Ohio opens 16 mass vaccination sites this month that will all use the tool for scheduling.
“We’re making progress and look, you’ve got to start — you got to open it up,” he said. “What people can do today is they can go on and, some they can directly link into and some they can’t and the goal is so that they will be able to link in every place.”
Expanding Vaccine Eligibility
The state is expanding vaccine eligibility to all residents 50 and older beginning on Thursday, the governor announced this week. Explaining the decision Tuesday, DeWine said he wasn’t expecting to make the move until a call Monday morning with health commissioners.
Some counties were running out of eligible residents interested in the vaccine, struggling to administer all their doses.
“I’ll be honest with you, going into this week, I didn’t think we were going to expand to 50,” he said.
More vaccine supply is coming into Ohio since the arrival of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and expanded production from Pfizer and Moderna.
The governor said the move to 50 years and older is also part of the state’s push to address disparities in vaccine rates among minority populations.
The Schottenstein Center has administered about 79,000 vaccinations, officials said. (Pete Grieve / Spectrum News 1)
“When you go down to 50, frankly, you pick up a bigger percentage of the minority population,” DeWine said. “Facts are, sadly, tragically that among our more minority populations, the life expectancy is simply less.”
Ohio is not planning to lift eligibility requirements entirely when its providers turn focus to vaccinating residents under 50. Officials are looking at prioritizing younger people with medical conditions who are not yet eligible, DeWine said.
The state has to balance its goal of vaccinating the highest priority residents with its other focus of getting shots out quickly, he said, sharing that a personal friend might still be alive if he’d gotten the shot just a few days earlier.
One Year Anniversary
Flags in Ohio were at half-mast Tuesday for a day of remembrance of the first reported infections one year ago. The governor said it was a joy to see seniors getting the vaccine on the anniversary.
“The one thing that was kind of a common theme for everybody that was getting vaccinated is a sense of relief,” he said. “In my informal survey of what people were happy about, most of them were saying, ‘I’m happy I’ll be able to see my grandchildren.’”
Speaking with a grandparent at the clinic, DeWine said now that it has been two weeks since his second vaccine shot, his grandchildren were able to visit over the weekend. “I can actually read them a book,” he said, adding that he can finally hold his two youngest grandchildren, who were born during the pandemic.
Gov. Mike DeWine is at a vaccine clinic in Columbus on the one year anniversary of Ohio’s first COVID-19 cases @SpectrumNews1OH https://t.co/MSmiQuO6NB https://t.co/D3JFfqe07z
— Pete Grieve (@pete_grieve) March 9, 2021
There was no playbook back then, and it was anyone’s guess how the pandemic would play out, DeWine said.
“When this started, I had no idea that a year from when we got our first case, I would walk into the Schottenstein Center and see it full of people being vaccinated,” DeWine said.
Acknowledging the tragedy, still ongoing after many thought the spring lockdowns would only last weeks, the governor said the surreality of being in Columbus, touring the state-of-the-art facility a year later, is partially a feeling of awe at the mesmerizing science that brought vaccines to market in record time.
“We all should feel happy and grateful that we have a vaccine today,” he said. “Since we started vaccinating people in Ohio, it’s really the time when the sun is starting to come out and people can see that there is an end. As we move forward, we all need hope. We all need optimism. It’s been a long year — spring is coming, and this is really the equivalent of spring, which opens people up to live their lives again.”
